


#62: "Fingertips"

by theskywasblue



Series: 100 days, 100 prompts [71]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-29
Updated: 2017-04-29
Packaged: 2018-10-25 06:13:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10758387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theskywasblue/pseuds/theskywasblue
Summary: Nate could feel his heart beating through the palm of his hand.





	#62: "Fingertips"

Nate could feel his heart beating through the palm of his hand.

The pain had mostly disappeared, though there was still a thread of it, worked deep into the heel of his hand, woven up his wrist, he could ignore it easily enough. It didn’t feel much different than it had for years. He felt strangely vindicated by the meaty hunk of diseased bark that Blue had ripped free; he’d always known something was wrong, that there was something poisonous left behind in him.

He felt more clear-headed than he had in days, safer, saner, with the sound of rain pattering on the roof and Blue snoring softly, curled up on the floor next to the bed. How had they ever stayed in that house? They should have left days ago; _he_ should have left when Blue had asked him to.

Even in his sleep, Blue looked tired. The faint glow of the porch light through the gaps in the bedroom curtain cast heavy shadows on his sunburned face. The skin just underneath his eyes was starting to peel. Nate reached out, his faintly throbbing fingers slipping through the dark.

 _I don’t like that kid around here._ Uncle Mark’s voice echoed so sharply in his ear that Nate flinched, then froze. The small bed - the same one Blue had slept in all through his childhood and into his teenage years - was right up against the wall, tucked into the corner; but for a moment Nate could have sworn Mark was standing over him at the other side of the bed, speaking directly to him. _I don’t like the way he looks at you._

Nate drew his hand back, and tucked it under the pillow.


End file.
